


The Long Haul

by stitchspineapple



Category: The Walking Dead (Comics), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Takes place about 2 years after where the show is currently at, Work In Progress, eventual adoption
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-19
Updated: 2016-05-25
Packaged: 2018-06-09 08:36:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6898858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stitchspineapple/pseuds/stitchspineapple
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daryl and Jesus are in charge of finding animals and farming equipment to help sustain Alexandria when they stumble upon a broken family and are determined to find a way to help them.  That is, if they are able to be trusted.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I've been toying with this idea for more than a month and I'm really excited about it because to my knowledge this topic has yet to be tackled in a darus fanfic, so it'll be exciting to explore. This is just a short prologue, there's more to come!

Assuming Maggie’s calendar was correct, it had been nearly four months since Rick had started sending Daryl and Jesus out on weekly hunting trips to search for farming equipment and animals to domesticate. Maggie had begun tracking the calendar on what they’d calculated to be the spring equinox, and decided the start day would be March 20th. Earlier that morning Jesus had checked off the calendar that today was July 20th. 

Jesus was probably the only other person in Alexandria as obsessed with the calendar as Maggie, so much so that he even drafted up a calendar for his and Daryl’s bedroom. Daryl couldn’t comprehend why Jesus was so obsessed with figuring out how long they’d been hunting for pigs, but Jesus wouldn’t let Daryl know the real reason. The younger man was embarrassed to admit that, deep down, he could be a hopeless romantic. The real reason he was so obsessed with the calendar was because he was trying to pinpoint some sort of “anniversary” for the two of them, even if he’d never reveal the date to Daryl. Currently, he was hung up on what event he should even go by; when they first kissed, when they first physically confirmed their love, or when they finally decided to move in together.

All of them were special but all of them had occurred at different points in the year. They’d been out scavenging when one of those harsh summer thunderstorms rolled through and forced them to retreat into an old abandoned barn, where they shared a kiss for the first time. It took Daryl a long time to come to terms with his feelings for Jesus and as a result they didn’t first make love until more than a year after that first kiss, in late autumn when the leaves were falling in front of the house. It didn’t take long after that first time for the couple to realize they weren’t happy living in separate towns and spending most nights apart. Since Jesus had no lingering ties at the Hilltop, they agreed to settle down in Alexandria. 

The more Jesus thought about it, the more he wanted to try and pinpoint their move-in anniversary, because that had been one of the most fun nights of his life. A large snowstorm had come through not long after Jesus had finished moving the remainder of his belongings into Daryl’s house, so they snuck a bottle of wine from the pantry and enjoyed being snowed in with card games and alcohol by candlelight. 

Lost in his own lament, Jesus didn’t realize they’d arrived at their hunting spot until Daryl shook his arm roughly.

“Daydreamin’? Come on, daylight’s wastin’.”

Jesus immediately sprung back into focus and climbed out of the car so they could begin their day.

“Yeah, coming.”


	2. Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl and Jesus are on a routine run when they stumble upon a farmhouse deep in the forest. They had hoped to find animals or equipment but may end up with something even more valuable.

It was early morning when the two men reached their destination; the sun hung low in the sky and cast a warm golden glow over the damp forest. Since it had rained the previous night the air was thick with moisture and had a distinct cool sting against bare skin. As a result, Jesus donned his worn grey beanie until the day decided to bring them an unbearable heat that would leave them both sweating and exhausted by early evening. He just prayed they didn’t get stuck in one of those awful midday thunderstorms. While they’d managed to formulate calendars, it would be quite a long time until they could bring back meteorology.

“Instead of scourin’ the forest hopin’ to find a random personal farm…shouldn’t we be checkin’ places like, I dunno, Tractor Supply? They have those around here right?” Daryl asked, watching his feet carefully as they dodged large tree roots.

Jesus immediately stopped in his tracks and stared at the archer. “You know…” Jesus was dumbfounded that no one else had thought of that in the past 4 months. “…that would probably make a lot more sense for tilling supplies. Although, it’s still good we search for animals around these parts, sure as hell aren’t going to find pigs at a John Deere store.” After taking a moment to reflect on why they’d never considered checking agricultural stores, Jesus began moving again. 

“Well it ain’t like food, I doubt people thought about lootin’ a tractor while shit was going down.”

“No, you’re right; it’s a really good idea. I can’t believe none of us thought about it before.”

Daryl felt a small swell of pride at his partner’s praise. “Although, not sure how we could haul a commercial sized rig back anyway. We’ve scavenged the immediate area well and I can’t remember comin’ across any tractor stores. Might be a long tow.”

“Well, when we get back we will pitch the idea to Rick, maybe round up a larger group to go with us next time. Maybe someone who lived locally will have an idea where one is.”

Daryl grunted in agreement as the couple continued to trudge through the forest. Occasionally they’d hit a muddy spot and get slowed down by sticky boots.

“Pain in the ass,” Daryl muttered as he nearly lost his shoe to a particularly deep puddle. 

“I keep telling you, if you would keep your shoes tied tight…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” 

Jesus smiled and leaned against the tree his boyfriend had knelt beside to tie his shoe. “Hey, good time for breakfast?”

“I feel like it might storm today, don’t want to waste time. Walk and eat.”  
“Alright.” Without taking the backpack off, Jesus reached into one of the side pockets and grabbed two granola bars. He handed one to Daryl.

“Still no peaches?”

“Not for another few weeks it looks like.”

“Oh well,” Daryl said as he unwrapped the bar. They walked and ate in companionable silence until, in the distance, they noticed that the trees began to thin. “You see that?” 

“Yeah,” Jesus confirmed.

“Think it’s a farm?”

“I hope so.”

They finished their meal and ditched the wrappers onto the ground as they quickened their pace towards the clearing. When they approached the outskirts they slowed down to observe the area and make sure no one was around, walker or otherwise. The area was large, probably close to five or more square acres, with grass so overgrown that the brown tufts that appeared on tall fescue had collapsed on itself several times over. Off to the right of the lot sat a long brown rancher and a matching paneled horse stable. The area had a wired fence that appeared to still be fully intact, but there were no lingering traces of live farm animals.

“Damn. Well, let’s check the house and barn before changing direction,” Jesus suggested. His partner nodded and they walked up towards the house, only to find the door had been boarded up from the outside. It was a half-assed job though since there was only one board and a handful of nails.

Without needing to verbally communicate the plan, Jesus automatically turned and Daryl quickly grabbed the crowbar out of the backpack. After several solid pulls with the bar and some careful wedging with Jesus’ knife, they managed to pull the board free and Daryl attempted to open the door. Which turned out to be locked, of course. 

A bit annoyed now, Daryl forcibly shoved the iron in between the frame and the door. With a grunt he pried them apart, taking the chunk of wood around the lock with it.

“Crappy wood must’ve rotted to break apart that easy,” Jesus commented as they prepared to enter. Since it was boarded from the outside, they figured something had to be in there, and they needed to be on their guard.

When they pulled the door open, they were amazed to find the living room and kitchen remarkably intact. Dusty with abundant spider webs but the furniture and floors weren’t bloody or muddy, and there were still knick-knacks adorning the counters and walls. The hallway was in the same condition, and still had perfectly straight family photos lining it. At the end of it were three doors leading into bedrooms, two of which were open. One appeared to be a young girl’s bedroom with dolls and stuffed animals, and the other was likely a teenaged boy’s bedroom with car posters and ample video games. 

“It’s kinda creepy…how untouched this place is,” Jesus whispered as they prepared to check the bedroom that had been shut. They both readied their knives as the younger man pushed the door open, coughing and covering their mouths when that all too familiar smell greeted them.

“Christ…” Daryl exhaled, relaxing from his ‘ready-to-stab’ stance and turning his head to gasp for fresh air. In a king-sized bed lay a family of four skinny decomposed bodies tangled in a hug. 

“They starved to death…” Jesus sighed in empathy as he noticed the family’s extremities had almost nothing but skin and bone left, and their stomachs had caved in past their ribcage. One of them made a faint moaning sound, probably at the distinct ‘alive’ smell emanating from Daryl and Jesus. 

“Let’s get this over with,” Daryl mumbled as he went to the opposite side of the bed and took care of the two male corpses. Jesus followed suit and without hesitating, put the mother and daughter out of their misery.

“We should mark this place down, at some point we could come back and get the games and dolls for the kids. Can’t carry much with us right now,” the archer suggested. The couple walked out of the room and closed the door to keep the smell contained. Jesus stopped at the table to pull out their make-shift map and mark down their whereabouts.

“That’s a good idea, I think everyone would like that.”

They decided to search the kitchen but, unsurprisingly, it was a fruitless attempt. They grabbed the handheld can opener and canning supplies and threw them in Jesus’ backpack, but nothing else in the kitchen was of much use. 

“Well, since you broke the door, I hope nothing else comes through and messes the place up. It’d be disappointing if the kids’ stuff got all mucky from walkers before we get a chance to come back and get it.”

“I shut the bedroom doors, should be fine. I think if anywhere is, this place is safe from a bunch of random walkers coming through. Doesn’t seem like there’s anything else around for miles.”

They closed the front door as best they could and headed for the horse barn located several yards away. It wasn’t huge, but probably could house three or four horses. When they approached, they were surprised to find it was locked as well, but this time from the inside.

“You think there’s someone in there?” Daryl whispered.

Jesus shrugged and attempted to open the door harder. When he did he was able to see it was a simple latch preventing them from getting inside, but it was a good indication that someone was inside. Without saying anything Jesus pulled Daryl further away from the door.

“I think someone is inside, is it really necessary we go in there?”

“This is definitely a horse stable, they probably have saddles and other horse supplies in there. They’d be good for us to have, even if it’s just to trade with. Besides…they probably know we are out here now. It’s better we see them before they see us.”

Jesus nodded in agreement and turned towards the barn. “Is someone in there?” he called out in his calm, negotiable voice, not wanting to be too loud out in the open like they were. “If you are, we aren’t looking to harm you. We’re just looking for farming supplies.”

They were met with silence.

“Are you alone?”

…More silence.

“We should just go Daryl; not like we can carry a saddle right now anyway.”

Reluctantly, the older man agreed. “…Alright.”

Mindful of their backs in case whoever was in the barn decided to try and follow them, Daryl and Jesus walked away from the farm and began hiking back through the forest. Just as they found their bearings and started heading in a different direction, they heard a high-pitched scream ring out behind them. No more than two seconds later there was another cry that sounded vaguely like “mommy” coming from the same area. 

Certain it was their mystery barn-dwellers, Daryl and Jesus spun around and sprinted back the way they came. When they rounded the house, they slowed when they saw a half dozen walkers surrounding a young blonde woman and a small child backing away from the zombies. 

Not sure if they had been seen or not, Jesus grabbed Daryl to pull him behind the wood pile in the front of the house before joining him there. 

“What’re you doin’? We have to help them! That little girl can’t fight; she could get grabbed!”

“If they’ve survived up to this point, they’ve got to have some skill. If they do it might be worthwhile to call home and talk about bringing them in… But if it starts to go bad, we’ll help.”

Daryl gave his partner a disgruntled look but couldn’t deny he was right. It wasn’t exactly a requirement, but Rick preferred that any new recruits have some sort of skill that would be of value to Alexandria. Daryl’s scouting days were long over ever since the Wolves incident, but every once in a while Alexandrians would come across another person or a small group on a run, and Rick wanted to be sure prior to bringing the outsiders back to the community that they would be a good fit and were trustworthy. As a result, during every trip, someone in the group was responsible for a walkie-talkie that would transmit directly back to someone in Alexandria. As long as they were within 50 miles, they could communicate about potential new recruits without giving away their position, but also alert home if any assistance was required. Typically, things stayed quiet though.

While they’d been talking, the blonde took out one of the walkers and five remained standing.  
As they approached, the woman’s face contorted into concerned worry when suddenly, the little girl sprinted out from behind her and in between three of the walkers to draw their attention to herself. Small and fast, she zipped around several trees and then behind the barn, allowing the person they presumed was her mother to take out the others easier. The mother quickly stabbed her knife through one’s eye, then used the body to block herself from the other walker closing in. She walked them backwards until the corpse that was still alert fell and she was able to take out that one as well. 

So far Daryl and Jesus were impressed by their teamwork; particularly the child, who couldn’t have been any older than 6, drawing attention away so the mother could take them down. Now that the woman wasn’t so overwhelmed, she was able to quickly dart over to cut down the slowest walker chasing her daughter. The little girl re-circled the barn one last time and the woman was able to take out the fastest walker by jumping out from the side of it. Now that only one remained, when it finally trudged out from the opposite side, the woman triumphantly kicked it down into the grass before thrusting the blade through its temple.

Daryl and Jesus looked to each other briefly, nodding in approval, before turning back to watch the girls interact. The woman appeared to be exhausted after the ordeal as she got down onto her knees and checked her daughter for bites and scratches, then herself. It was hard to tell from where they sat, but it appeared that parts of her blonde hair were now caked in blood, as were her hands and sweater.

Then the woman started looking around, which the couple took as their cue to duck and creep away, but not too far. Before they talked to the woman they wanted to clear their new recruits with Rick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I apologize for any grammatical errors, and thrive on your wonderful comments!  
> See you next chapter!

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any grammatical errors, I read through my work multiple times prior to posting but my eyes can only catch so much.  
> Also, I adore everyone's feedback, it definitely gets me inspired to write more!


End file.
